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HC 3 Zinnen Dolomites withdrew. © Icebears
A bombshell in the IHL: Toblach withdraws
Even before the start of the new season in the Italian Hockey League (IHL), HC 3 Zinnen Dolomites made a bombshell announcement. The team from Toblach withdrew its participation.
July 20, 2026
From: dl
The new IHL season was supposed to include twelve teams – four of them from South Tyrol. But on Monday afternoon, the Toblach Polar Bears withdrew. They announced this in a detailed press release: "It is with great regret that we must announce that HC 3 Zinnen Dolomites will not field a senior team for the upcoming season and is withdrawing from the IHL – at least for this season."
The Hochpusterer team, who finished last in the qualifying round last season, continued their explanation: “This withdrawal is not a financial failure – our budget for the season would have been covered. It is a conscious, strategic decision: a clear signal against a system that does not adequately protect youth development and smaller locations. We also do not yet know what the future holds for the senior team.”
This leaves only three South Tyrolean teams remaining in the IHL: HC Eppan, SV Kaltern, and the HCP Junior who is participating for the first time this year. Brixen Falcons They had already announced their withdrawal at the beginning of May. Below is the full text of the HC 3 Zinnen Dolomites' announcement of their withdrawal.
The club's statement
| Fought to the very end | The sporting developments of recent years have significantly changed the player landscape in Italian ice hockey. This presents a particular challenge for smaller clubs, making it difficult to remain competitive in the long term. |
| We respect this development – however, it prompted us to redefine our own path. | |
| We could have registered a team, but we were not prepared to start a season with a squad that would not have met our sporting standards or our responsibilities towards the players, the league and the club. | |
| Players make their decisions for a variety of sporting and personal reasons. We respect these. | |
| At the same time, we have realized that we want to consistently develop our club further according to our own values. | |
| Our structures, our organization, and our volunteer commitment form a strong foundation. We want to build on this consistently. | |
| Since we currently do not have enough young players available to support a senior team, we want to use this time to invest in our youth and prepare them specifically for a sporting career in the senior sector. | |
| Next season, we will field a joint U16 team with Cortina, while several of our players will already be gaining experience in the U19 team. This is where the team of the future is being built. | |
| As a sports club in a small town like Toblach, with a 100-year history in 2030, this step is not a task, but a conscious decision for the future of our club. | |
| A word to the association | At this point, we would also like to make a fundamental, but objective, criticism: |
| In recent years, cooperation between clubs has too often given way to the self-interest of individuals. | |
| The current system favors those clubs with the greatest financial resources, who are thus able to attract the best players – a situation that does not ultimately benefit the sport as a whole. | |
| This decision was not a last resort, but a conscious step – not out of financial necessity, but because short-term solutions do not fit our idea of responsible club management, and because we want to send a signal against a system that does not adequately protect youth development and smaller locations. | |
| We are not addressing this communication with bitterness, but with the wish that the system will continue to develop – for the benefit of all, including the smaller, traditional clubs. |
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